Newcastle United summer transfer’s wait for a rare appearance continues after injury ‘set-back’

Lewis joined Watford on a season-long loan deal in July with an obligation to buy but is yet to feature for The Hornets so far this season.

Lewis’ last league start came in Newcastle’s 4-0 defeat to Leicester City in December 2021 as the second half of his 2021-22 campaign was written-off due to injury. Despite being fit for the majority of last season, Lewis was limited to just nine minutes of Premier Leaguefootball as he was made available for loan by Newcastle in the summer.

Watford manager Valerien Ismael confirmed Lewis had suffered an injury ‘set-back’ with his calf last month and was left out of the Northern Ireland international squad as a result.

“Jamal has had a setback with his calf,” the Watford boss said previously. “We have to be patient with him.

“We cannot afford to rush, especially with the issue he has. It was not the expectation we had last week but it is what it is.

“The important thing is that the player gets the confidence back in his body, in what is a sensitive area. Then we can go from there.

“It’s nothing major, we are talking weeks. It’s not a big injury. He could be back next week, or he might need another week.”

Lewis - who was signed by Newcastle for £15million from Norwich City in 2020 - will be pushing to make his debut in the coming weeks with Watford returning to Championship action at home to Birmingham City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).